Spot marker holder for golf clubs



I SPOT MARKER HOLDER FOR GOLF CLUBS Filed July 2, 1952 INVEN TOR. HARRY ,4. KRAELING-E C(AZMWW United States Patent SPOT MARKER HOLDER FOR GOLF CLUBS Harry A. Kraeling, In, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Tricon Incl, Perryville, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 2, 1952, Serial No. 296,840

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-162) This invention relates to a spot marker. More particularly the invention relates to a holder for spot markers which is preferably mounted in the handle of a golf club such as a putter.

One of the rules of the game of golf requires that a following player who has a ball positioned on the green in a direct line of travel of the ball to the cup of a first player, pick up his ball and mark the spot on which the ball lies with a small marker and hold the ball until the first player has taken a shot to attempt to put the outer ball in the cup. Thereafter the following player will replace the ball and take a shot to put the replaced ball in the cup. Since the spot marker is used on the green, the holder for the spot markers is preferably mounted in the handle of the putter.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a spot marker holder which will securely hold the spot markers and still readily permit the markers to be removed from the holder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spot marker holder for attachment to a golf club handle that is effective in holding spot markers so that the markers will not be lost as the club is handled in the usual way in a golf bag.

A further object of the invention is to provide a spot marker holder which may be securely attached to the handle of a golf club and which is neat and attractive in appearance.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the spot marker holder hereinafter illustrated and described and defined in the appended claims.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a golf club showing the preferred form of the marker holder attached to the upper end of the club handle;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the spot marker holder;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the spot marker holder as separated from the golf club handle showing the clamping device for securing the holder in the handle; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view, and Fig. 5 is an edge view of a spot marker to be used with the holder.

The spot marker holder is shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3. The holder consists of a columnar body of generally cylindrical form having three flutes 12 symmetrically arranged in the body and extending 1ongitudinally of the body. The flutes are concave and merge into Walls of the cylinder near the bottom of the body. A cylindrical sleeve 14 closely fits the outer diameter of the body and has cut-out portions 16 which register with the flutes 12 of the body. The opposite edges of the cut-out portions 16 extend inside of the edges of the flutes to form flanges 18 at each side of the flutes behind which spot markers 22 will be gripped when placed within the flute.

The holder of the present invention is particularly adapted for use with flexible flat discs 22 such as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Viewing Fig. 2, it will be seen that when the discs are placed within the flutes or cavities in the body 10 they are flexed and bent so that the edges of the markers which engage the flanges 18 will be firmly held in position in the flutes or grooves. With the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the holder has the capaclty for holding three spot markers 22.

2,700,547 Patented Jan. 25, 1955 The size and shape of the holder is such that it might be carried in the pocket of a golf player for the purpose of supplying the spot markers when needed. It is preferred, however, that the holder should be locked to the handle of the putter so that it will be readily available on the golf green. To lock the holder in the golf club handle a resilient cylinder 24, such as rubber, is mounted on a bolt 26 which extends longitudinally through the columnar body and has a nut 28 for clamping the cylinder 24 against the bottom of the holder. To fasten the holder to the end of the club, an opening is formed in the golf club handle of a size in which the cylinder will snugly fit when the nut 28 is loose on the bolt. After the expansible cylinder has been moved into an opening such as 30, Fig. 1, the bolt 26 may be rotated with a screw driver to tighten the nut 28 and expand the cylinder 24 to lock the holder in position in the hole in the golf club handle. Although the bolt is shown as provided with a notch 32 for use with an ordinary screw driver, it is apparent that any of the well-known types of bolt heads may be used for permitting the bolt to be tightened to lock the holder in the end of the golf club handle.

The holder may be made of transparent or colored plastic to make it attractive and have a size which will fit and blend in with the design of the golf club to give a good appearance. Furthermore, the outside dimension of the holder is such that the holder will not interfere in any way with the grip the player will take on the golf club when using the putter.

It is not necessary that the spot markers be round. They may be any desired shape provided they are flexible and have a width dimension which will fit tightly behind the flanges 18 when the marker is cupped and placed in the holder.

The preferred form of the invention having thus been described what is new is:

1. A holder for flexible plate spot markers comprising, a cylindrical body having a plurality of flutes extending longitudinally of the body and arranged circumferentially around the axis of the body, a cylindrical sleeve shaped to fit over the outside of the body and having cut-out portions therein which are arranged in front of the flutes with the circumferential arc of the cut-out portions being substantially less than the circumferential arc of the flutes to form retaining flanges to hold a marker against the surface of the flute.

2. The holder defined in claim 1 in which the flutes are concave and the spot markers have a width dimension such that the said markers must be flexed into concave form to fit in the flutes behind the flanges.

3. The holder defined in claim 1 in which the bottoms of the flutes are closed While the tops of the flutes are open to provide slots for the insertion of said flexible markers into and out of the flutes.

4. A spot marker holder attached to a golf club handle comprising a golf club handle, an axial opening in the upper end thereof, a generally cylindrical holder having a diameter closely approximating the diameter of the handle and having longitudinally arranged fluted compartments around the surface thereof to hold flexible markers, an expansible cylinder extending into and closely fitting said opening in the handle, a bolt extending through the holder and expansible cylinder and a nut within the said opening on said bolt to expand the cylinder in the opening when the bolt is threaded into the nut to lock the holder to the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 716,793 Vogeler Dec. 23, 1902 1,032,319 Anthony July 9, 1912 2,261,959 Buttikofer Nov. 11, 1941 2,447,856 Hazelton Aug. 24, 1948 2,520,375 Roe Aug. 29, 1950 2,605,588 Lindstaedt Aug. 5, 1952 

